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Ecu - Charles I
| Issuer | Arches-Charleville, Principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1611 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | CAROLVS GONZAGA DVX NIVERN ET RETH XXX 1611 |
| Reverse description | A large quartered heraldic shield, displaying the arms of the Gonzaga family impaled with those of Nevers and Rethel, is depicted in the center of the field, supported by elaborate baroque scrollwork cartouche and surmounted by a princely crown with the motto CONCORDIA on the crown band. The shield quarters bear fleurs-de-lis and other heraldic charges. A beaded inner border frames the device, and the Latin legend runs continuously around the outer periphery. |
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| Additional information |
Charleville was a planned town founded in 1606 by Charles de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers, who obtained imperial recognition of his sovereign rights over the tiny principality specifically to gain minting privileges. The right to strike full-weight silver écus was a deliberate assertion of quasi-regal status by a French peer operating in the cracks between Valois exhaustion and Bourbon consolidation. Charles pushed that privilege hard in the early years, producing coinage that mimicked royal French weight standards almost exactly — hence the 20-gram specification — while remaining technically outside royal monetary jurisdiction.
The Dav EC II attribution places this firmly within the broader Rhenish-influenced lordship coinage series. Charleville's mint operated only sporadically, which limits the survivor pool considerably.